your email: IMAP or POP3?

[shecky]

for those of us who use an email application, do you have it setup as POP3 or IMAP? i have always used POP email but i am debating migrating it all over to IMAP, especially as i think it will make more sense that way with my iPhone. my biggest concern is that my mailbox right now has 2GB of emails, and i would need to rethink my email habits so i do not cram my server full of emails if i go to IMAP.

what do you prefer about either one?

 

[GGJstudios]

I use IMAP with .mac and several Gmail accounts. Works great!

 

[PlaceofDis]

i used to use POP3, now i use IMAP simply because i view my mail on more than one machine/device and so i don't have to 'reread'/open the mail on each to have it marked as read.

 

[redwarrior]

We use email in our business, and often have the same email account open at home and at the office. IMAP works great. And with tons of attachments, I don't have to clutter up my computer, just let gmail keep the stuff.

 

[italiano40]

IMAP because it sync across all my e-mail clients

 

[Sherman Homan]

Gotta be imap for an office desktop, home desktop, data phone and laptop.

 

[mkrishnan]

I use both on various accounts, but IMAP preferentially. The only thing I don't like about IMAP is that offline viewing on slow devices can sometimes be painful. While my Blackberry had a BIS backing it up and so this wasn't an issue, I find it annoying sometimes on other devices.

 

[shecky]

wow... looks like i need to change to IMAP.

 

[flyinmac]

wow... looks like i need to change to IMAP.

IMAP does have the advantages that they mention. But, there is also the issue of speed.

I found that with attachments and such (even just regular text e-mails) that I spent too much time having things download all the time. With POP they stay on your machine.

It's been several years since I've messed with IMAP. But, it was so slow the last time I used it that I'm not really interested in it.

It seemed like I was always waiting for messages that I'd already read to be downloaded again so that I could read them again. I just got tired of always waiting.

Maybe it doesn't seem so bad with faster Internet these days. But, I just have bad memories of it.

I like all my stuff being cached on my local machine. I don't like to leave stuff out there.

And, what if the server has a hiccup, and you lose everything.

At least if it's stored locally, you only lose your stuff if your machine dies.

Yes, servers usually have backups. But, I have had a few (though very rare) instances where an ISP issue has caused me to have to replace stuff I had on their server.

I don't like the idea of relying on others to hold stuff that is important to me. I'd rather store it myself, and then make backups if I need extra protection.